VOA慢速英语2016 奥巴马夫妇将访问古巴（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-02-19 Obama to Visit Cuba in March 奥巴马夫妇将访问古巴

President Barack Obama will visit Cuba on March 21 and 22, the White House announced Thursday.

白宫周四宣布巴拉克·奥巴马总统将于3月21日到22日期间访问古巴。

It will be the first time in nearly 90 years that a U.S. president visits Havana, the capital of the island nation.

这将是近90年来美国总统首次访问这个岛国的首都哈瓦那。

Diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States have improved in the past 14 months. The countries have re-opened embassies, and commercial airlines will fly between the two countries soon.

过去14个月来古巴和美国的外交关系有所改善，两国重开使馆，两国之间的商业航班很快就要运营。

Plus, the U.S. removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

另外，美国将古巴从恐怖主义赞助国名单中移去。

Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have talked via telephone and have met in person twice. Obama will meet with Castro during the March visit. He will also meet with Cuban activists who work for social causes.

奥巴马和古巴国家主席劳尔·卡斯特罗曾电话通话过，还面谈过两次。奥巴马将在3月份的访问中与卡斯特罗会面，还还将与从事社会事业的古巴活动人士们会面。

While normalizing relations, Obama said his administration promises to monitor Cuba’s communist government on human rights issues.

尽管两国恢复了关系，但奥巴马说美国政府还将监督古巴共产党政府的人权问题。

“We still have differences with the Cuban government that I will raise directly,” Obama wrote on Twitter. “America will always stand for human rights around the world.”

奥巴马发表推文称：“我们与古巴政府还存在分歧，我会直接指出的，美国将永远捍卫世界各地的人权。”

The American presidency and Cuba had a sketchy relationship during the first half of the 20th century. President Calvin Coolidge visited Havana in 1928. President Harry Truman stopped by U.S.-controlled Guantanamo Bay and its naval base in 1948.

20世纪上半页美国总统和古巴保持了简单的关系，凯文·柯立芝总统1928年访问哈瓦那，哈里·杜鲁门总统1948年顺路访问了美国控制下的关塔那摩湾和海军基地。

First Lady Michelle Obama will accompany the president on the Latin American trip. The Obamas will travel to Argentina after Cuba.

第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马将陪伴总统进行这次拉美之旅，奥巴马夫妇在访问古巴后将前往阿根廷。

Words in This Story

sponsor – n. someone who takes the responsibility for someone or something

communist – n. a person who believes in communism or is a member of a political party that supports communism

normalizing – v. to bring someone or something back to a usual or expected state or condition

sketchy – adj. likely to be bad or dangerous

Latin America – n. South America and North America south of the U.S.